Transcript: Mayor Mamdani, Governor Hochul, FIFA and NYNJ Host Committee Announce Free Watch Party in Central Park for FIFA World Cup 2026 Final
Zohran Mamdani on NYC Mayor's Office transcripts.
Passages
Good morning. It is a pleasure to be together here in Central Park in the heart of Manhattan. And I am glad that we are joined today by Governor Kathy Hochul, who has been such a partner in preparing for this moment; FIFA President Gianni Infantino, who is a big month coming up. And I also want to acknowledge we have leaders from across our city and state. We have our borough president here, Brad Hoylman-Sigal as the president of Manhattan. We have Alex Lasry — as the governor said — the president of the New York-New Jersey Host Committee; J.T. Batson, the CEO of U.S. Soccer Federation; and Hugh Evans from Global Citizens. We also have our Parks commissioner, Tricia Shimamura. We have our World Cup team, Maya Handa and Ellyn Canfield. And we also want to say thank you to Betsy Smith, the president of the Central Park Conservancy. Betsy has been an extraordinary steward of Central Park and has made this project possible. And I want to thank all of the people legends that we have here with us as well. You know, when I was a child growing up in East Africa, there were towering figures. And then there was George Weah. The first African player to ever win the Ballon d'Or. If you had told seven-year-old me that I would one day go into the same line of work as this man, I would be extremely disappointed to understand that you meant politics. But while I will not pretend to possess President Weah’s speed or his calm comfort in front of goal, nor would I have ever been able to stomach wearing a Chelsea kit, we do share something in common: a desire for this World Cup to be enjoyed and celebrated by every New Yorker. That is what brings us together today as we make an enormously exciting announcement, that when the World Cup final kicks off on July 19, just a few miles from here, New York City will host a free watch party for 50,000 New Yorkers on the Great Lawn. The most iconic match of the most iconic tournament in the world deserves to be watched in the most iconic park in the world with the most iconic skyline as its backdrop. And in a moment where sports, experiences and memories they create have grown increasingly unattainable for working people, we will make this viewing party 100 percent free. And you will need not spend thousands of dollars to watch the final alongside your fellow New Yorkers. That is what it looks like when the state and the city works together on behalf of the New Yorker that we are so proud to serve. And it is proof that government can not only deliver services that measurably improve New York's lives but also can do its part to deliver joy as well. And just in the language of delivering joy, I do also want to say thank you to the child who let my shot go into the goal when we were taking our kicks. I know that it was actually straight down the middle. After all, the best World Cups are those that reflect the energy of where they're being held. That serve as both a celebration of the best football players in the world and the cities where the games are being played. I will always remember being 18 years old and watching the 2010 World Cup with friends in Durban, South Africa. The sound of endless vuvuzelas, the freedom of playing beach soccer on the sand, the smell of meat cooking on the braai. Those memories are some that I will never forget. And with this watch party, we will create those same memories for the next generation of New Yorkers, and we will do so by bringing out the best that our city has to offer. We will have food, musicians and entertainers reflecting the full breadth of talent and creativity of the five boroughs. Tickets will be available, as the Governor said, beginning this Thursday at 10 a.m. And we have set 20 percent of those tickets for New Yorker's who help make our city what it is: non-profits and New York City service volunteers. This is but one of a larger effort to make the World Cup belong to every New Yorker. We have delivered 1,000 affordable tickets to the World Cup itself at $50 apiece; free fan fest in all five boroughs; $26 food and drink options at more than 488 small businesses and restaurants across our city. And today, right here in Central Park, we are cutting the ribbon — or we already have rather — on a mini soccer pitch where New Yorkers can hone their skills for the next few weeks. The only place in the world where I could ever stand alongside such incredible FIFA legends and be playing at the same time. Throughout the World Cup, New Yorkers will come here. They will attempt their best trivelas. Some flagrant side tackles will be attempted. Please, no two-footing here. And someone will try to imitate Bukayo Saka and then realize that no one can in fact imitate Bukayo Saka. My sincere hope is that in the run-up to the 2038 World Cup when the U.S. Men's National Team's next great prospect is asked where his journey began, he will be able to say, “Right here, on this pitch in Central Park.” I will close with this. One of the great injustices in football history is that President Weah never got to compete in a World Cup. And while we cannot go back in time and provide Liberia with the one point they needed in 2002, we will do the next best thing. We will make this World Cup one that as many people as possible can participate in. I want to say thank you to everyone who shares that same mission, all those who have done so much to make the world's game belong to the world. Now, please welcome FIFA president Gianni Infantino.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceYou know, I've made clear that my focus in this World Cup is ensuring that we make this the most affordable and accessible experience for as many New Yorkers as possible. And I'm willing to work with everyone to that end, and I'm appreciative of the fact that we were able to secure the only host city that was able to get a thousand tickets at $50 a piece at a time when so many New Yorkers couldn't even conceive of the possibility of getting to the games themselves. And I had the opportunity of calling a number of those New Yorkers who won that chance, and these are New Yorkers who have dreamed of this moment for their entire lives, and being able to get that price point of $50 with a free round-trip ticket meant that working-class New Yorkers could actually be at this game. Today's announcement is one that reflects the fact that for all of the focus on the games, what many fans will tell you is the experience of being a fan around the host city is just as important if not more, and so today is a celebration of another place that New Yorkers can play soccer. But also 50,000 people having a chance to watch the final of the World Cup together for free in the most iconic park in the world, I think, is something that deserves to be celebrated and we're excited to share that opportunity with New Yorkers across the five boroughs as we encourage all of them to sign up for the raffle.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceIt is a day-to-day assessment. What I will say is that we found that the closer we get to the tournament itself, the more that bookings increase [and] that there are a large number of fans who will be making their bookings into the first days even of the World Cup itself. And as you heard from the CEO of the New York-New Jersey Host Committee, we are still incredibly excited about the economic opportunity that this presents. And I think it goes back to the fact that sports are not only an integral thing for the spirit of a city but even for the economy of the city. We are seeing with the Knicks, as they're embarking on this historic run, every single home playoff game generates $90 million in economic activity. And our focus here is to ensure that with the World Cup, the economic activity is spread across the five boroughs. We want this to be an experience that reaches more than 488 restaurants that range not just all across Midtown, but frankly all across the entirety of our city. And we're hopeful as we see us get just a few days away from the kickoff of this tournament. That we will see that excitement also in those who come to visit our city.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceSo, when it comes to the president's attendance of Game 3 tonight of the finals, the Secret Service and the NYPD determined that the additional security requirements that need to be in place are ones that change our approach for what the finals would be. The good news, however, is that New Yorkers will still have an incredible number of opportunities to watch the Knicks together at watch parties, as has been announced that the Knick's Organization has put together watch parties here in Central Park as well as at Brooklyn Bowl. We've also announced this morning that there will be an additional watch party at Bryan Park for about 5,000 New Yorkers where they can sign up for free starting in about one hour. And what this all speaks to is that we are incredibly prepared for a summer that will be memorable for so many reasons. We have the Knicks in our first final since 1999, a chance to win our first championship since 1973. We have a once in a generation opportunity with the World Cup and all of that happening alongside America 250, July 4, the Puerto Rican Day Parade, Pride [and] all of the summer events that so many of us look forward to on an annual basis. And we're excited, we're prepared for this to be a summer not only that is safe and secure but also a summer of fun.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceSo, I will have our partners at Global Citizen share some of the additional details. What I will say is that the capacity of this watch party is about 52,600. As I've mentioned earlier, 20 percent of these free tickets will be set aside specifically for partners in community service and nonprofits. And now we'll just have Global Citizen share any of the addition details.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceOn the first question, I bought my tickets for nearly $1,000 from Madison Square Garden. I'll be going to tonight's game three, and I'll be standing for the duration of the game. On the second question, we have heard time and again threats of increases in immigration enforcement across our city. I want to be very clear about the fact that I believe that ICE raids are cruel; they are inhumane; [and] they do nothing to serve in the interest of public safety. I've shared that directly with the president [and] I've shared that in public. It is a feeling that many New Yorkers share and I also do believe that ICE as an entity is one that should be abolished and that we should return to an immigration system that has more humanity at the heart of it. And as much as this is an off-topic question, we're also discussing the World Cup. The World Cup is supposed to be a celebration of the world as a whole and some of the decisions that we've seen been taken by the federal administration. Be it the denial of visas for journalists from certain countries or the rejection of a visa for a coach of a team, as well as single-day visas for specific foreign national teams. This is anathema to what this tournament is supposed to be about. If we cannot even allow the players, the teams and the journalists covering those teams to come into this city and this country, then it begs a larger question about our commitment to the spirit of this tournament. And we want this to be a tournament that reflects our commitment to us being part of something larger than ourselves and that's the world's game, which everyone should be able to be part of.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceSo that's something that I purchased directly from Madison Square Garden. Close to $1,000 was the price of it. And standing room only is just the section that I'll be standing in. When it comes to the president, I don't have any scheduled meetings with the president. However, I'm sure that our conversations will continue about how to serve the city.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceI think, as you've said, the right to protest is one that is innate not only to the spirit of our city but also the laws of our country. And the procedures that are being taken today are ones that honor that right and they also look to ensure that we are providing safety and security for this evening. As we know, what comes with a presidential visit and Secret Service protocols necessitate a different set of preparation than we would otherwise be taking for the finals. And we have seen what our preparation has been thus far. Game four, and hopefully that'll be the end of the finals. We will see a very different set of preparations in the absence of the president's attendance.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the source
Every passage above is taken from this recording: NYC Mayor's Office transcripts, Transcript: Mayor Mamdani, Governor Hochul, FIFA and NYNJ Host Committee Announce Free Watch Party in Central Park for FIFA World Cup 2026 Final.